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Among African American adult, adolescent, and young adult cigarette smokers, the most popular brands are all mentholated.

Cigarettes with brand names containing words such as “thins” and “slims” have been manufactured to be longer and slimmer than traditional cigarettes to appeal directly to women—e.g., Virginia Slims and Capri brands.

Brand Characteristics

Of all the cigarettes sold in the United States in 2015—3

99.8% were filtered

26.0% were mentholated brands

Use of mentholated brands varies widely by race/ethnicity. The percentage of individuals aged 12 years or older who reported using mentholated brands in 2010 was:4

19.1%Black

3.6%Asian

7.8%Hispanic

6.5%White

Before 2010, manufacturers were allowed to label cigarettes as “light” or “ultra light” if they delivered less than 15 mg of tar when measured by an automated smoking machine.5

Such labeling allowed tobacco companies to deliberately misrepresent “light” cigarettes as being less harmful and an acceptable alternative to quitting smoking.6

The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, however, prohibits use of terms like “light,” “low,” and “mild” on tobacco product labels.7

Other Tobacco Products

Cigars

According to 2014 sales data, Swisher Little is the most popular brand of cigars in the United States, with sales substantially greater than the leading little cigar competitor and the leading large cigars and cigarillos competitors.8

Market Shares for Leading Cigar Brands8

Brand

Category

Market %

NOTE: Market share—or market percentage—is defined as the percentage of total sales in the United States.

Swisher Little

Little cigars

64%

Swisher Sweets

Large cigars and cigarillos

12%

Black & Mild

Large cigars and cigarillos

10%

White Owl

Large cigars and cigarillos

5%

Dutch Masters

Large cigars and cigarillos

5%

Winchester

Little cigars

2%

Smokeless Tobacco

The U.S. smokeless tobacco industry grew by 1.7% from 2010 to 2011, increasing its sales from 122.6 million pounds to 124.6 million pounds. The greatest growth occurred in the moist snuff category.9

Market Shares for Leading Smokeless Tobacco Brands9

Brand

Category

Market %

NOTE: Market share—or market percentage—is defined as the percentage of total sales in the United States.